A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of shelters, more specifically, a protective shelter for use during a tornado or severe weather even including dangerous wind speeds.
B. Discussion of the Prior Art
As will be discussed immediately below, no prior art discloses a storm shelter that is constructed of a shell and a plurality of supports forming an enclosure that is secured to a concrete slab via anchor bolts; wherein the shell is lined with extensive padding on the interior, which protects occupants from injuries sustained while inside of the enclosure; wherein the enclosure includes a GPS locator alarm that is actuated in an emergency in order to provide location based data to emergency response personnel in order to locate the storm shelter and occupants located therein; wherein the storm shelter is adaptive for use indoors or outdoors, and provides a safety shelter for occupants in the event of a severe weather event that includes dangerous wind speeds, such as tornados; wherein the storm shelter features a low-profile curvature that is aerodynamic, which resists forces associated with dangerous wind speeds; wherein the shell is constructed of an inner shell layer and an outer shell layer, which collectively sandwich the supports therein.
The Jackson, Jr. Patent (U.S. Pat. No. 6,131,343) discloses a storm shelter apparatus that can be installed above ground or below ground and provides a padded, reinforced shelter to escape a storm. However, the storm shelter does not feature a storm shell that sandwiches supports between an inner layer and an outer layer, and which further provides a soft padding along an inner surface to protect occupants from impacting the interior.
The Waller et al. Patent (U.S. Pat. No. 6,393,776) discloses a storm shelter or structure that can be installed above or below the ground and is anchored in place using concrete. However, the storm shelter is not constructed of the various components and inclusive of a padding along an inner surface for protection of occupants during extreme weather.
The Willbanks, Jr. Patent (U.S. Pat. No. 6,061,976) discloses an easy to install pre-fabricated storm shelter apparatus that is reinforced to prevent being crushed. However, the reinforced apparatus does not feature a low-profile for minimal wind reaction, nor include a padding along an inner surface to protect occupants.
The Martin Patent (U.S. Pat. No. 5,956,907) discloses a pre-fabricated storm shelter for a trailer in which the shelter apparatus is anchored to the ground under the trailer. However, the shelter is uniquely designed for use with a trailer, and is not a shelter that is able to be installed indoors or outdoors, and which provides inner padding among other things.
The Cherry Patent (U.S. Pat. No. 6,415,558) discloses an easy to assembly'reinforced storm shelter that can be constructed indoors or outdoors as needed. However, the storm shelter does not include a low-profile curvature to said shelter, which is aerodynamically capable of resisting wind forces, and which excludes padding along an inner surface.
The Watson Patent (U.S. Pat. No. Des. 466,220) illustrates a design for a storm shelter, which does not illustrate a padding along an inner surface for use in conjunction with a shelter comprised of a two layered shell that sandiwches a plurality of supports.
While the above-described devices fulfill their respective and particular objects and requirements, they do not describe a storm shelter that is constructed of a shell and a plurality of supports forming an enclosure that is secured to a concrete slab via anchor bolts; wherein the shell is lined with extensive padding on the interior, which protects occupants from injuries sustained while inside of the enclosure; wherein the enclosure includes a GPS locator alarm that is actuated in an emergency in order to provide location based data to emergency response personnel in order to locate the storm shelter and occupants located therein; wherein the storm shelter is adaptive for use indoors or outdoors, and provides a safety shelter for occupants in the event of a severe weather event that includes dangerous wind speeds, such as tornados; wherein the storm shelter features a low-profile curvature that is aerodynamic, which resists forces associated with dangerous wind speeds; wherein it the shell is constructed of an inner shell layer and an outer shell layer, which collectively sandwich the supports therein. In this regard, the tornado shelter departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art.